Week 4: Raspberry Cream Sandwiches

Last week I got a lot of suggestions to fill my cookies with raspberry. I heard their call and obeyed! Unfortunately for them, it snowed and they were unable to receive these cookies. I have to say this recipe calls for white chocolate and, of course, raspberries-neither of which I enjoy. Raspberries have too many seeds; I don't enjoy crunchy fruit. However, this wasn't about me and I made them. Raspberry Cream Sandwiches.

Recipe courtesy: Martha Stewart's Cookies

Cookies:

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp coarse salt (kosher salt)

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved

Filling:

1 1/3 c fresh raspberries

2 tsp sugar

7.5 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 c heavy cream

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Put butter and sugar in bowl of electric mixer and mix on med-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla extract, and vanilla seeds. Mix until smooth. Gradually mix in flour mixture.

3. Using a 1 inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets. Space 2 inch apart. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden and set. Let cool on parchment paper on wire racks.

4. Make filling: Puree raspberries and sugar in a food processor. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a small bowl, pressing to extract juice; discard seeds.

5. Melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water. Remove from heat; whisk in cream in a slow, steady stream. Add raspberry mixture; slowly whisk until pale, about 3 minutes. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

6. Assemble cookies: Spread 1 Tbsp. filling onto bottom of cookie, sandwich with another. Repeat.

My Verdict: I can definitely eat white chocolate and raspberries this way! Now, I'm not a big Martha Stewart fan, *gasp* but this woman knows what she is doing! Obviously. The raspberry extract was BEAUTIFUL. I want nail polish in that color and it reminded me of Spring. Who doesn't want to think of springtime right now?

I must have over-measured my raspberries, probably because they aren't cheap (no waste) and that caused my filling to be runny. So I ended up melting an additional 2 oz of white chocolate, then folding my filling into that and thankfully that worked. Now, vanilla beans are also not cheap, and unlike the raspberries, you don't necessarily need them. However I'm sure it makes the cookie more delicious. Also don't be alarmed (I freaked a little) when you add your cream to the chocolate and it starts looking grainy. Just keep whisking and it will become glossy.

These cookie sandwiches are so yummy and pretty. They are rich though. You can't sit and have a handful of them like chocolate chip cookies. Next time I think I will make them slightly smaller for that very reason.

Survey Results: A rating of 4.09. The overwhelming suggestion was to make them smaller next time. So, if you're making these, I would cut the dough balls down by a third.